The Government of the UAE listed the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as one of 83 proscribed terrorist organizations

We who follow the Islamist movement fell off our collective chair on November 15, 2014 when the news came that the United Arab Emirates’ ministerial cabinet had listed the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as one of 83 proscribed terrorist organizations, up there with the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and ISIS. This came as a surprise because the UAE authorities themselves have a record of promoting Islamism; because CAIR has a history of raising funds in the UAE; and because the UAE embassy in Washington had previously praised CAIR.

On reflection, however, the listing makes sense for, in recent years, the Islamist movement has gravely fractured. Sunnis fight Shiites; advocates of violence struggle against those working within the system; modernizers do battle against those trying to return to the seventh century; and monarchists confront republicans. This last divide concerns us here. After decades of working closely with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and its related institutions, the Persian Gulf monarchies (with the single, striking exception of Qatar) have come to see the MB complex of institutions as a threat to their existence. The Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, and Bahraini rulers now view politicians like Mohamed Morsi of Egypt as their enemies, as they do Hamas and its progeny — including CAIR. While the Gulf monarchs have not become any less Islamist, they have acquired a clear-eyed appreciation of the harm that MB-related groups can do. Having explained why the UAE listed CAIR on its terror manifest, we must ask a second question: Is the listing warranted? Can a Washington-based organization with ties to the Obama White House, the U.S. Congress, leading media outlets, and prestigious universities truly be an instigator of terrorism?

CAIR can rightly be so characterized. True, it does not set off bombs, but, as the UAE’s foreign minister explains, “Our threshold is quite low. . . . We cannot accept incitement or funding.” Indeed, CAIR incites, funds, and does much more vis-à-vis terrorism: It apologizes for terrorist groups: Challenged repeatedly to denounce Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups, CAIR denounces the acts of violence but not their sponsors.

It is connected to Hamas: Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and many other governments, indirectly created CAIR and the two groups remain tight. Examples: In 1994, CAIR head Nihad Awad publicly declared his support for Hamas; the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), a Hamas front group, contributed $5,000 to CAIR; in turn, CAIR exploited the 9/11 attacks to raise money for HLF; and, this past August, demonstrators at a CAIR-sponsored rally in Florida proclaimed “We are Hamas!”

It settled a lawsuit: CAIR initiated a libel lawsuit in 2004 over five statements by a group called Anti-CAIR. But two years later, CAIR settled the suit with prejudice (meaning that it cannot be reopened), implicitly acknowledging the accuracy of Anti-CAIR’s assertions, which included:

“CAIR is a terrorist supporting front organization that is partially funded by terrorists”;

It includes individuals accused of terrorism: At least seven board members or staff at CAIR have been arrested, denied entry to the U.S., or were indicted on or pled guilty to (or were convicted of) terrorist charges: Siraj Wahhaj, Bassem Khafagi, Randall (“Ismail”) Royer, Ghassan Elashi, Rabih Haddad, Muthanna Al-Hanooti, and Nabil Sadoun. It is in trouble with the law: Federal prosecutors in 2007 named CAIR (along with two other Islamic organizations) as “unindicted co-conspirators and/or joint ventures” in a criminal conspiracy to support Hamas financially.

In 2008, the FBI ended contacts with CAIR because of concern about its continuing terrorist ties. On learning of the UAE listing, CAIR called it “shocking and bizarre,” then got to work to have the Department of State protest and undo the ruling. Nothing loath, department spokesperson Jeff Rathke noted that the U.S. government, which “does not consider these organizations to be terrorist organizations,” has asked for more information about the UAE decision. The UAE minister of state for foreign affairs replied that if organizations can show that their “approach has changed,” they are eligible to appeal “to have their names eliminated from the list.”

Representative Larry Haler said in a House Judiciary Committee hearing that the Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR is “basically run by the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas,” with a goal “to overthrow the country.”

Muslim Brotherhood’s plan & connection to Obama – Part 2

ABU DHABI: The Cabinet has approved a list of terrorist organisations and groups following the implementation of Federal Law No 7 for 2014 on combating terrorist crimes.

The law was issued by President Sheikh Khalifa and the Cabinet’s own resolution on the designation of terrorist organisations that allows the publication of such lists in the media for the purposes of transparency and to raise awareness about these organisations.

The following list of organisations deemed terrorist has been approved by the Cabinet:

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

The UAE Muslim Brotherhood.

Al Islah (or Da’wat Al-Islah).

Fatah Al Islam (Lebanon).

Associazione Musulmani Italiani (Association of Italian Muslims).

Khalaya Al Jihad Al Emirati (Emirati Jihadist Cells).

Osbat Al Ansar (the League of the Followers) in Lebanon.

The Finnish Islamic Association (Suomen Islam-seurakunta).

Alkarama organisation.

Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM or Tanzim al-Qa‘idah fi Bilad al-Maghrib Al-Islami).

The Muslim Association of Sweden (Sveriges muslimska forbund, SMF)

Hizb Al Ummah (The Ommah Party or Nation’s Party) in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula